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In college, I lost the day planner that I had been using for years one night on the T. I tried so hard to find it, but it was gone. Although it was useless, I continued to think about how I needed to check something in my planner.

As a Computer Science student, I knew a digital solution would be the best way to avoid losing my valuable planner again. Since then, I’ve tried nearly every product, organizer, and task manager that I’ve come across. I always give them a try, but before long I’m back to using paper.

I love paper. There is a certain tangibility and lack of barriers when using pen and paper that technology can’t fully replicate. The problem is I hate to carry around more than I need to, so my notepads are never with me when I need them. Even at my desk where my notepads are kept, it always takes longer to find something written on paper than saved digitally.

Existing software task managers really fell short when I started my contracting business. It was more work than I expected to start a business. My to-do list was longer than ever. In theory, I had the time, but I struggled to find the right balance between scheduling and maintaining the flexibility that motivated this life change in the first place. Despite having “so much time”, I found that I was getting less done.

I was doing everything that I was supposed to do. I set goals. I planned for my future. I created spreadsheets to map out long term projects. However, these things were not being incorporated into my day-to-day life. My daily routine was dominated by to-do lists scribbled on loose notepaper.

While I knew how I wanted to be spending my time, I also knew that reality wasn’t matching the goals I laid out. I think part of the problem was that my unstructured time felt limitless. Thinking that I had all the time in the world, I procrastinated and took on tasks that did not bring me closer to attaining my goals.

I wanted something that would bring together goal planning and to-do lists. Something that would allow me to keep a flexible schedule and make sure I was completing necessary tasks. In addition, I also wanted to understand where my time was going so I could actively improve my productivity.

With this in mind, I decided to create a solution. I designed Simply Goals & Tasks, a task manager app for busy people with flexible schedules.